Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts

Subject Abbreviation: CWPA, CWLR College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Main Campus Traditional M.F.A Stu Krieger, B.A., Advisor (Theatre, Film, and Digital Production) Reza Aslan, Ph.D., Advisor (Creative Writing) Program Office, ARTS 124

• (951) 827-5568

writingmfa.ucr.edu

Main Campus Traditional M.F.A Faculty

Professors

Reza Aslan, Ph.D. (Creative Writing) Steve Erickson, M.A. (Creative Writing) Charles Evered, M.F.A. (Theatre, Film and Digital Production) Katie Ford, M.F.A., M.Div. (Creative Writing) Allison Hedge Coke, M.F.A.(Creative Writing) Rickerby Hinds, M.F.A. (Theatre, Film and Digital Production) Erith Jaffe-Berg, Ph.D. (Theatre, Film and Digital Production) Stuart Krieger, B.A. (Theatre, Film and Digital Production) Laila Lalami, Ph.D. (Creative Writing) Tom Lutz, Ph.D. (Creative Writing) Robin Russin, M.F.A. (Theatre, Film and Digital Production) Susan C. Straight, M.F.A. (Creative Writing)

Professors Emeriti

Mike Davis, C.Phil. (Creative Writing) Juan Felipe Herrera, M.F.A. (Creative Writing)

Associate Professors

Josh Emmons, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Donatella Galella, Ph.D. (Theatre, Film, and

Digital Production) Michael Jayme, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Keun-Pyo “Root” Park, M.F.A. (Theatre, Film and Digital Production) Andrew Winer, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Allison Benis White, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Charmaine Craig, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Emily Rapp Black, M.F.A. (Creative Writing)

Palm Desert Low Residency M.F.A.

Tod Goldberg, M.F.A., Administrative Director (760) 834-0928 Kathryn McGee, Program Manager

• (760) 834-0939

palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu

Low Residency M.F.A. Core Faculty

Michael Birnbaum, M.F.A. (Screenwriting) Elizabeth Crane-Brandt, B.A. (Creative Writing) Jill Alexander Essbaum, M.A., M.A.R. (Creative Writing) Tod Goldberg, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Mark Haskell Smith, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) Joshua Malkin, M.F.A. (Screenwriting) William Rabkin, B.A. (Creative Writing) Robert Roberge, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) John Schimmel, M.F.A. (Screenwriting) David Ulin, B.A. (Creative Writing)

Master of Fine Arts The Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts (CWPA) offers writers the ability to move fluidly within various arenas of creative writing, including the genres of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting, as well as in multimedia studies. The program integrates scholarly studies of narrative, style, voice, structure, and history of these writing disciplines with traditional workshop formats, forming writers who can actively direct the literature of the 21st century.

For students in the Main Campus Traditional M.F.A. program, financial assistance may include teaching assistantships and fellowships, as well as fellowships for community projects through the Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts.

UCR Palm Desert Center (PDC) An M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts is offered at UCR’s Palm Desert Center, in the Low Residency program. Students in the Low Residency program can receive limited financial assistance through editorial positions on The Coachella Review, the student run literary journal of the program.

Palm Desert Low Residency Program Students enroll in a prescribed number of units each term. Requirements are similar to the full- time program at UC Riverside, but courses are modified to fit low residency requirements. Low Residency MFA students come to Rancho Mirage, California for two ten-day sessions in the Fall and Spring quarters that include lectures, seminars, workshops and readings (please refer to website palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu for specific dates). Students also attend a final thesis or manuscript residency their last quarter to file. Students also enroll in a one unit Professional Development Course during this quarter. During the rest of the academic year, students participate in online workshops and seminars and work individually with faculty. Cross-enrollment between programs is not allowed. Full time enrollment in this program is 8 units per quarter for 7 quarters, and students pay a per unit fee.

Admission Applicants to either program should demonstrate significant professional skill by submitting in thesis or manuscript form one of the following: 10-15 pages of poetry, a maximum of 25 pages of fiction or nonfiction, or the first act or a maximum of 25 pages of a screen play or play. Applicants must have a B.A. or B.S. degree from an accredited institution and submit 3 letters of recommendation, a self-statement, and original transcripts. Applications for the Main Campus Traditional Program are accepted for Fall quarter only; applications for the Palm Desert Low Residency program are accepted for the Fall and Spring quarters.

Plan I (Thesis or Manuscript) Both M.F.A. programs (Main Campus and PDGC Low Residency) require completion of a thesis or manuscript, the requirements of which are the same. Each student will decide which title - thesis or manuscript - best suits their work.

Consists of workshops in chosen genres, culminating in a final project (the master’s thesis or manuscript) that showcases the writer’s cultivated talents, in the form of a poetry collection, novel, memoir, screenplay, or full-length play. The M.F.A. requires students to major in one genre but encourages them to explore the other genres as well, allowing for creative movement within disciplines. Structure and focus in screenwriting and playwriting can also be applied to fiction and nonfiction, and lyricism and metaphor in poetry can also enhance description and dialogue in the other genres, for example. Students can also engage in course work in varied areas of directing and acting, in film history and literature, in literary criticism and translation, with supplemental courses selected from departments such as Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages, English, Hispanic Studies, and Media and Cultural Studies. Students can gain practical aspects of filmmaking from courses in Studio Art and Theatre.

Course Requirements Minimum requirements consist of 56 units of course work (14 courses) and 8 units of master’s thesis or manuscript project. The core curriculum includes the following:

• 1. Students in the Creative Writing Track (fic

tion, nonfiction and poetry) are required to take six workshop courses in their chosen genre. (24 units total). Students in the Writing for Performing Arts Track (playwriting and screenwriting) are required to take five workshop courses in their chosen genre (20 units). Requisite courses include CWPA 230 for nonfiction concentration; CWPA 262 for fiction concentration; CWPA 270 for poetry concentration; CWPA 264, 266, 267, 268 or 269 for playwriting and screenwriting concentration.

• 2. Three graduate seminars from Creative

Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts (12 units). Students may select from the following: CWPA 200, 210, 214, 227, 231, 246, 250, 251, 252E, 252F, 252G, 2521, 252J, 252K, 253, 255, 256, 257, 260, 265A,265B,275,276, 277,278,279,281, 282,285

• 3. One graduate seminar from any

department outside of Theatre and Creative Writing. Seminar subject matter should be relevant to student’s thesis or manuscript project. Requirement can be met with upper-division courses, with instructor and graduate advisor approval, as an appropriate 292 course (1 units).

• 4. Creative Writing track students will take

four (16 units) electives and Writing for the Performing Arts track students will take five (20 units) electives in workshop, graduate seminar or thesis or manuscript, with the following limitations: Students may take a maximum of six workshops (24 units) within their chosen genre, and a maximum of 16 thesis or manuscript units within the normative time to degree (six terms). Students are encouraged to take seminars or cross-genre workshops, as available; elective thesis or manuscript units beyond the 8 required units must be approved by the student’s thesis or manuscript advisor and graduate advisor. Students may select from CWPA 200, 210, 214,227,230,231,246,250, 252E, 252F, 252G, 2521, 252J, 252K, 253, 255, 256, 257,260,262, 264,265A, 265B,266,267, 268, 269, 270, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 288, 299 or seminars from departments outside of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production and Creative Writing.

• 5. Thesis or manuscript (8 units) In the areas

of playwriting and screenwriting, the final written project is a full-length play of two or three acts (90-130 pages) or screenplay or teleplay (approximately 130 pages). In the areas of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, the final written project Is a poetry collection, novel, short story collection, or essay collection. Each student is paired with one or two faculty members who serve as thesis advisor(s). Two faculty readers, in addition to the advisor(s), evaluate the thesis work. The length of the final project breaks down as follows: Poetry 40-65 pages, Fiction 100-150 pages, Creative Non-fiction 100-150 pages, screenplay, teleplay or play 90-130 pages.

Normative Time to Degree Main campus: 6 quarters

Professional Development Requirement By completing the required workshops in their chosen genre, as well as thesis research units in CWPA 299, students will fulfill professional development training by the end of their 6th quarter. Requisite courses include CWPA 230 for nonfiction concentration; CWPA 262 for fiction concentration; CWPA 270 for poetry concentration: CWPA 264, 266, 267, 268 or 269 for playwriting and screenwriting concentration.

Palm Desert Low Residency Program Consists of workshops in chosen genres and course work culminating in a final project (the master’s thesis or manuscript) which showcases the writer’s cultivated talents, in the form of a poetry collection, novel, short story collection, essay collection, memoir, full-length work of nonfiction, screenplay, or full-length play. The M.F.A. requires students to write in two genres, allowing for creative movement within disciplines. Structure and focus in screenwriting and playwriting can also be applied to fiction and nonfiction, and lyricism and metaphor in poetry can also enhance description and dialogue in the other genres, for example. Students engage in course work in varied areas of directing and acting, in film history and literature, in literary criticism and translation. Requirements consist of 56 units of course work.

• 1. Six low residency genre workshop courses.

• 2. Six low residency literature, poetry,

and film seminars.

• 3. Six low residency cross genre workshops.
• 4. Thesis or manuscript. In the areas of

playwriting and screenwriting, the final written project is a full-length play of two or three acts (90–120 pages) or screenplay or teleplay (approximately 120 pages). In the areas of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, the final written project is a poetry collection (approximately 60 pages), novel, short story collection, essay collection, memoir or full-length nonfiction work (between 100-200 pages). Each student is paired with three faculty members who serve as the thesis advisor(s).

• 5. One unit Professional Fundamentals Course.

Normative Time to Degree 7 quarters